Claude Lelouch’s ‘Un homme et une femme’ reshapes romance cinema

Claude Lelouch directed the 1966 film *Un homme et une femme*, starring Anouk Aimée and Jean‑Louis Trintignant. After a series of commercial failures, Lelouch financed the project himself, shooting it in three weeks with a modest budget and pioneering handheld camera work, long focal lenses, fragmented montage and improvisation.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix, and later earned two Oscars and two Golden Globes. Its innovative visual style and emotional narrative have been credited with redefining modern romance on screen and leaving a lasting cultural imprint.